SUNRISE SWIMMING: Coronado girls, Green Valley boys divvy up regional titles
Coronado girls swimming coach David Stump knew his team was regarded as an underdog before the Sunrise Region meet, and that didn’t bother him a bit.
Stump knew his Cougars were ready to post an upset of perennial powerhouse Green Valley.
Coronado jumped ahead Friday with a strong performance in diving and never relinquished the lead Saturday in collecting 490 points to claim the title at UNLV.
The Gators finished second with 418 points, followed by Silverado (359), Foothill (171) and Basic (126).
“We thought we had enough depth to win today,” Stump said. “So we just wanted to come and swim our best.”
“After who we graduated last year, I was surprised to even be in this situation,” Stump added. “But they dug down deep, and it paid off.”
As Stump predicted, depth turned out to make the difference. The Cougars won just one swimming event, as the 200-yard freestyle relay team cruised to victory in 1 minute, 47.30 seconds.
Green Valley posted four victories. Brooke Ivey won the 200 free in 1:58.48, Smaranda Georgescu won the 100 free in 53.04, the 200 medley relay team won in 1:55.95, and the 400 free relay team won in 3:44.95.
Rancho’s Tonicia Thomas was a double-event winner, claiming victories in the 50 free (24.03) and the 100 backstroke (56.99). Basic also won two events, with Melanie Harris placing first in the 100 butterfly (59.07) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.79).
Silverado’s Gabriella Graham won the 500 free in 5:18.24, and Foothill’s Marley Bindrup took first in the 200 individual medley (2:16.47).
BOYS
Green Valley’s boys fell behind Coronado early in the meet, but dominated down the stretch to finish with 412 points and the championship.
Coronado finished second (379), followed by Foothill (280), Silverado (186) and Valley (174).
Gators coach Bob Swift also pointed to his team’s depth.
“We know that every race is intense,” Swift said. “From the first-place people to the people all the way down at 16th. It’s not just the first-place people, but all the ones who get that one point. We did that today.”
Green Valley won eight events on the day, led by Michael Velazquez, who won the 200 individual medley in 1:55.58 and the 100 fly in 1:00.35.
Carter Friedrich also won two events for the Gators, taking first in the 50 free (21.98) and the 100 fly (51.78).
Green Valley’s other individual event winner was Connor Smith in the 100 free (48.69), while the 200 medley relay (1:38.96), the 200 free relay (1:28.36) and the 400 free relay (3:21.73) teams also took first.
“The relays were the key for us today,” Swift said. “The boys really came together.”
Coronado’s Jake Chir won the 100 back in 53.25. Other winners were Valley’s Mitchell Rockey in the 200 free (1:45.22) and Basic’s Liam Wetzel in the 500 free (4:43.81).
